“Like most people when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer it affected me on a physical and emotional level. Obviously I was very concerned and emotionally depressed since I was only 58 years old. I am a medical doctor, so as you can imagine, there were several concerns about the different treatment options available; the 2 biggest ones being: first and foremost the eradication of the cancer and the second was erectile dysfunction. So I thoroughly researched all of my options.

According to best Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez, using a radiation treatment program in combination with hormone therapy saves more lives among older men who are suffering from advanced prostate cancer than those using hormone therapy alone.

Recent studies have found that hormone therapy used in combination with radiation reduced cancer deaths by nearly 50 percent in patients between the ages of 76 and 85. This is compared to men who received only hormone therapy treatments.

Past studies have indicated that approximately 40 percent of men who suffer from aggressive forms of prostate cancer are treated with hormone therapy alone, revealing a large gap in cancer care among baby boomers who are in their 70s.

Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez advises that failure to use effective treatments for older men suffering from prostate cancer is a health care concern in our country. Patients should discuss beneficial treatment options for prostate cancer with their urologist and cut back on the instances of hormone therapy used on its own.

Advanced prostate cancer is cancer that has travelled outside – but remains close to – the prostate gland. Unlike tumors that grow more slowly, locally advanced prostate cancer is an aggressive growth that is likely to spread and result in prostate cancer deaths. Hormone therapy blocks the testosterone and other male hormones that nourish prostate cancer tumors.

Two break-through clinical trials have indicated that radiation used in conjunction with hormone therapy also represents a large and significant improvement in survival in younger men who are given hormone therapy alone. But until now there has been no similar research regarding treatment for older men who suffer from advanced prostate cancer.

According to your Miami urologist, researchers compared the combination of radiation plus hormone therapy versus hormone therapy alone in a group of over 30,000 patients suffering from prostate cancer between the ages of 65 and 85. Among men between the ages 65 and 75, radiation plus hormone therapy resulted in a reduction in prostate cancer deaths of almost 60 percent as compared to those received hormone replacement therapy alone.

Among men between the ages of 76 and 85, this combination of treatments resulted in a reduction in prostate cancer deaths of almost 50 percent relative to hormone therapy alone. In both groups, radiation along with hormone therapy was also linked to about 30 percent fewer deaths.